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Friday, February 26, 2016

The Fire Department is always conducting fire safety inspections for commercial buildings in Bellevue. On Monday, February 22 the Fire Department conducted an disaster drill at Bellin College. The drill involved the Fire Department employees aiding the nursing students in triaging and removing patients from the simulated hospital fire. This drill gave the nursing students an idea of what it is like out in the field and what their tasks maybe in a disaster at a hospital. Fire Department employees had the great opportunity to receive extra training to continuously improve their triage skills for a disaster.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

All of Bellevue's residents co-mingled recycling products go to the Brown-Outagamie-Winnebago (BOW) partnership Materials Recycling Facility. In 2015, the BOW collected 97,999 tons in 2014 and 97,948 tons in 2015 of recyclables. The Village of Bellevue residents contributed 1,109 tons in 2014 and 1,168 tons in 2015. An additional 40,000 tons of recycling is contributed from commercial sources as well as other northeastern and central Wisconsin counties.

John Dewey Academy of Learning students recently presented projects to the Village on a variety of topics. Student presentations included:

Bringing a library to Bellevue

Transparency on costs of living in Bellevue and other municipalities

Improving the the Village's website and social media

Fundraising and sustaining a dog park in Bellevue

Adding sidewalks and trails to the community

Creating a teen space

Use of Stadium Tax funding and creation of a Bellevue reforestation area

The Village of Bellevue and our staff had a great experience working with the students over the past several months. The Village is very supportive of working with youth in our community and providing educational experiences about local government. Our staff also learned a lot from the students. Thank you John Dewey Academy!

Thursday, February 18, 2016

The majority of the street lights in Bellevue are owned and maintained by Wisconsin Public Service (WPS). If the light is located on a wood pole, it is WPS. When the light is on a metal pole, they could be owned by WPS or the Village of Bellevue. To get a faster response to relight your darkened neighborhood, you can log in your request directly through WPS. The Village maintains lighting systems on Lime Kiln Road, Monroe Road, and parts of Huron Road. If you have any concerns on these lights, please contact the Village Offices to request service.

Osprey Point is located in the Village of Bellevue along County Highway GV (just north of our border with the Town of Ledgeview).

It is an 80 acre conservancy area maintained by the Brown County Chapter of the Izaak Walton League. The Chapter raised funds in 1991 and purchased the land to protect and preserve this natural treasure. The property was donated to the Village of Bellevue and leased back to the Brown County Chapter (a 100 year lease) with the intent that it be maintained as a nature conservancy area.The conservancy area has many outstanding features, including:

Two ponds used for fishing by children, seniors and people with disabilities, including an annual fishing day for 150 students from Syble Hopp School

Walking and hiking trails

A Heron rookery

Wild turkeys

An Osprey nesting area

Sandhill cranes

Deer

Pheasants

Other wildlife

Over the past 17 years, the Izaak Walton League has maintained the
conservancy area for all area residents to enjoy, at no cost to Bellevue
taxpayers. Osprey Point is the only natural conservancy area in
Bellevue. It’s a peaceful place that provides a benefit for the entire
community, offering residents a place to enjoy nature and wildlife.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Are you getting ready for building season? If so make sure that the new State Codes complies with your future building projects. The state Safety and Professional Services Department issued some new regulations beginning on January 1, 2016 and they are requirements for any buildings that are being built in 2016. It is recommended to purchase a new code book or go online and review the changes, and pay particular attention to the tables and notes. Some of the highlights from State Code Chapter 321...

321.03 (6) (f) An egress window under a deck or porch shall discharge through a clear path of at least 36 inches in height and 36 inches in width, and no more than 15 feet in length, to a yard or open space.

321.06 Ceiling height. All habitable rooms, kitchens, hallways, bathrooms and corridors shall have a ceiling height of at least 7 feet except as follows: there are several minor changes but the most significant is that on rooms that have sloped ceiling only the area above the fire foot line needs to be considered for natural light and vent sections.

321.08 Table 321.08 has been changed to include dwelling separation and fire rating requirements.

322.47 Equipment requirements (1) Mechanical ventilation outdoor air intakes and exhausts shall have automatic or gravity dampers that close when the ventilation system is not operating.

322.49 Lighting Equipment. A minimum of 50 percent of the lamps in permanently installed lighting fixtures shall be high-efficacy lamps.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Get your favorite bag of chips and experience the dips of Bellevue... in their road that is. If you have driven around Bellevue, there are many roads that have a depression settlement crossing the road. Complaints regarding Verlin Road are most common. So why is this? And what is being done to prevent it from happening?

The majority of the settlements within the roadway are the result of the utility installations from years past. Talk to many contractors that have worked in Bellevue and they will tell you that the soils are difficult to work with. The conditions can change every 50 feet and uniform compaction is difficult to achieve as a result. If you don't add enough water, it is like trying to compact concrete. If you add too much water, it is like compacting soup. It does not take a lot of moisture to go from one extreme to the next.

Many of the dips have settled as a result of years of moisture and traffic traveling through and over the trench area. It is very difficult to achieve the same compaction as the surrounding soil, but eventually it does happen. The surface asphalt is flexible enough to conform to the dip. Many concrete roads have the same condition, but it is not noticeable because the concrete will bridge the settlement. Over time even the concrete will crack and settle over the depression. Typically when roads are resurfaced, the utility trenches have been compacted for 25+ years and can be filled in with little chance of additional settlement. This is one of the unfortunate features of Bellevue. In extreme cases, the depressions are filled in with patch asphalt.

The Village has taken steps to reduce the settlement chances through new utility trenches by specifying granular backfill within the roadway and additional compaction testing. The uniformity of the backfill material allows the contractor to better achieve consistent compaction results. There are no guarantees that there will never be settlement in the roadways, but these methods do reduce the chances of it happening.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

In December the Village published an article that notified the community that the sanitary sewer volume rates for customers were increasing to $5.65/1000 (11 cent increase). This article explains the why behind the increase and what Bellevue has done to slow the increases over the past eight years.

The 2016 annual expense budget for the sanitary sewer utility is made up of three major components; Village Admin and Maintenance ($469,913), NEW Water Treatment ($1,701,300), and Depreciation and Debt ($373,795). Since 2008, the cost for NEW Water treatment has increased at twice the rate as Bellevue's Maintenance or Depreciation. Bellevue does not have its own treatment plant for sanitary sewer. All waste is conveyed through pipes and pumps to the NEW Water treatment plant located near Bay Beach in Green Bay. NEW Water charges each community on a monthly basis for the volume and how polluted the waste is.

The NEW Water budget experienced a significant increase over the past eight years mainly due to increasing debt associated with required plant upgrades. The last major upgrade was performed in the 1980's, which kept the rates relatively lower throughout the 1990's and early 2000's. For the 2016 budget, the Village portion of the Operations and Maintenance decreased slightly, while the NEW Water treatment costs increased over 11%. The result is the 11 cent increase in volume rates.

The Village of Bellevue uses a portion of your utility bills each year to make an investment in staff and contracted services to clean, inspect and repair the sewer mains within our community. Each year Bellevue addresses about 15-20 miles of mains and manholes. Surface and ground water leaking into the system that attributes to hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in unnecessary treatment costs. Over the past 8 years, Bellevue has increased the number of customers by 130, but in that same time has decreased the volume of treatment by 70 million gallons per year. Had the Village not reduced the treated volume by that much, the residential customer volume rate could have been over $5.90/1000.

In 2016, the Village will continue to aggressively address leaks into the sanitary system. An added focus to the program will begin to address leaks from surface penetrations from private property. Areas in the community will be notified of the investigation and the findings. Repairs on private property will be required if found.

The Village is making a final call for students to sign up for the Village of Bellevue Citizens Academy. If you can only attend a few classes we are still very happy to accept you as a student. Participants will attend one evening per night over a period of six weeks. Sessions will last approximately an hour and half. Village staff will facilitate the sessions and provide in depth information on administration, local government, law enforcement, fire protections, public works, budget/finance, community development and leisure services. There are no tests or grades, it is simply to gain more information about the community that you live and take pride in.

The goals of the academy are to provide an educational experience for participants at the same time offering an opportunity for residents and business owners to ask questions and to present their ideas. For many participants this opportunity will lead to an increase in community involvement and volunteerism.

Class Dates: Thursday, March 10; Thursday, March 17; Thursday, March 31; Thursday, April 7; Thursday, April 14; Thursday, April 21; April 27 graduation at the Village Board Meeting

Cost: FREE

Registration: Sign up with Activenet through the Village website or stop in the Village Office at 2828 Allouez Ave.

All classes start at 6:00 p.m. Graduation night will be held at 5:30 p.m. Classes are held at the Village Hall/Public Safety Building at 3100 Eaton Road and one class will be held at the Village Public Works Building at 2828 Allouez Ave. Village residency is required. Contact the Village Administrator with any questions or e-mail agorall@villageofbellevue.org.

Friday, February 5, 2016

The
Village is reminding residents to place their garbage and recycling
carts in the driveway apron, or shovel an area behind the curb to place
the carts.

Public Works plow operators have noticed a number of
carts that were placed in the roadway while snow plowing. Having the
carts in the road is a hazard to the plow operator, the motoring
public and can cause delays in snow removal operations and garbage/recycling collections.

By keeping the carts
out of the street, you will do your part to help increase safety and
reduce snow removal costs. Also remember to keep containers separated in your driveway apron by at least five (5) feet. If possible, wait until after the snow plows have cleared the roadway before placing your containers in the apron.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

The Village of Bellevue is now hiring for summer seasonal employees. Do you know someone who is looking for a summer job who would be a good addition to our Village team? Here are the summerseasonal positions for which we have openings:

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Are you ready for voting with Wisconsin's Photo ID law. The best way to learn more and to ensure you are prepared is by visiting the Bring It To The Ballot website. Check out the provided video to learn more.

Monday, February 1, 2016

The last E-Newsletter indicated the February Plan Commission Meeting was scheduled for Thursday, February 18th, due to the spring primary election. However, the Plan Commission Meeting will remain at 6:00 PM on February 16th, 2016 at 3100 Eaton Road but will be held upstairs. We apologize for any confusion.

Items to be considered on that agenda include the Final Plat for Bedford Heights Second Addition, a Planned Development District (PDD) Amendment for a parcel located in the Village TIF #1 District to request relief from architectural standards and other requirements for a proposed Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant and Mattress Firm retail development, and creation of a PDD for American Climate Control on Allouez Avenue to allow a second overhead door on an existing indoor climate controlled development.